Stanley Tucci
Stanley Tucci is an American actor, writer, film producer and film director. He was nominated for several notable film awards, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his performance in The Lovely Bones (2009). Tucci's other recent celebrated roles have been in The Devil Wears Prada and Julie & Julia. He has been nominated three times for Golden Globes, and won twice — for his title role in Winchell, and for his supporting role as Adolph Eichmann in Conspiracy, both from HBO films. He also received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Winchell. He was nominated for Broadway’s Tony Award as Best Actor in a Play for his role as Johnny in the 2002 revival of Terrence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.
Emilie Perrier
Emile, Originally from Roanne, France in the Rhone Alpes, Emilie was raised in Burgundy. After becoming a cheese specialist at Mons Cheese Affineur in Roanne, she moved to New York City where she became a Certified Sommelier. Emilie has served as sommelier or Wine Director at a number of top New York restaurants, including The Modern Restaurant and Robuchon’s French Cuisine. When she was Wine Director of Sho Shaun hergatt in 2008, her 550 selection wine list received a macaron Michelin, in addition to many other awards from the New York Times, Zagat, Guyot, Glamour Magazine, and Esquire Magazine. In 2010, Emilie was honored by Food & Wine Magazine, receiving one of seven awards as “Sommelier of the Year.” She is currently Chief Sommelier at Ai Fiori.
Aidan Quinn
Born in Chicago and raised in both the U.S. and Ireland, Aidan Quinn began his acting career at the age of 19. He has starred in more than 35 feature films, including Desperately Seeking Susan, Avalon, Benny and Joon, Legends of the Fall, and Michael Collins. Aidan starred in A Streetcar Named Desire on Broadway and The Exonerated in New York, Edinburgh, Dublin, and on London's West End. In Ireland, he produced and starred in This Is My Father, a film written and directed by his brother Paul and shot by his brother Declan. Aidan was nominated recently for an Emmy for his role in HBO's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.
Amanda Freitag
After Amanda Freitag graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, her career as a chef started at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Vong in NYC in 1993. She developed her style by working with top chefs and helping them open their restaurants. Diane Forley from Verbena was her biggest influence and mentor, not to mention Alain Passard at Arpege in Paris, Tom Valenti, Mark Spagenthal, Sara Jenkins, and John Delucie. She is a judge on Food Network's Chopped and has competed on Iron Chef and Next Iron Chef. She also appears on Unique Eats on the Cooking Channel. She is in the process of opening her own restaurant in NYC.
Nanette Lepore
Ohio native Nanette Lepore is one of America's leading fashion designers. Her Nanette Lepore label has grown into an international brand, with boutiques across the United States and in Europe and Asia. Currently, she designs from her atelier in New York City. Her luxe line includes women's apparel, handbags, footwear, fragrance and swimwear.
Beronia
CUNE
La Rioja Alta
Marques de Caceres
R. Lopez de Heredia
Sierra Cantabria
Rioja
The Rioja wine region is located in far-north central Spain, spreading throughout the Spanish provinces of La Rioja, Álava, and Navarra which lie south of the Cantabrian Mountains on the upper Ebro river. The region’s name is derived from a secondary river running through the area (el río Oja), but Rioja is segmented and greatly influenced climactically by the country's most important river, the Ebro. The Cantabrian Mountains shield the area from harsh winds and the Ebro River provides humidity. There are three Riojan subregions: Alta, Alavesa, and Baja. The region mainly has a mild Atlantic climate, although the lower-lying Baja subregion has a Mediterranean climate, which is warmer and drier than the rest of the region.
Rioja has had vineyards since before Roman times. In the mid 10th century, local vinicultural endeavors expanded dramatically, as large numbers of Europeans on religious pilgrimages passed through the area on their way to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. The road to Santiago from France runs the length of Rioja, and wine was in great demand by Christian pilgrims. In the mid 19th century, Rioja got its big break due to the extremely bad luck of French wine-makers. Severe phylloxera mite infestation and simultaneous, widespread odium fungal infection of grapes in France ruined most of the country's vineyards. Subsequently, vintners from Bordeaux brought their expertise--in particular their unique oak-barrel aging process--to Rioja. Several prestigious wineries were established between 1858 and 1870. Some of these original wineries still exist, most notably the region's first French style estate, Marqués de Riscal. Many more labels have been created over the years. Currently there are about 150 wineries and 123,000 acres of vineyards in Rioja.
Terroirs throughout the region are variable. Rioja Alta's alluvial soils are rich in clay, limestone, and iron and are very fertile due to the sediments deposited by the Ebro River and its tributaries. Rioja Alavesa in the Basque province has a distinctive, chalky soil with some red clay. Rioja Baja's terroir is heavily laden with limestone. Rioja's signature grape is the Tempranillo. Almost all red wines from Rioja are the result of blending of grape varieties. Tempranillo grapes are used primarily and Garnacha grapes secondarily, with much smaller percentages of Mazuelos and Gracianos added for flavor and aroma. The Tempranillo grape provides the main flavor and has excellent aging potential. Body and increased alcohol content come from the Garnacha. Oak adds much to the taste of Rioja wines, as does the aging process. Wineries of this region have been known to hold a wine 15 to 20 years and even longer before releasing it publicly. In 1983, the bodega Marqués de Murrieta released its Gran Reserva 1942, after 41 years of aging.
For more on wines from Rioja, click here.
Photo of Rioja courtesy of Vibrant Rioja.
•Look for the DOC seal on wines from Rioja. This Denominación de Origen Calificada (Qualified Designation of Origin) ensures the wine’s regional authenticity and vintage. No bottle is released until optimally aged and ready to drink. Go towww.vibrantrioja.com to read more about all the outstanding wines of this region.
•Premium red or tinto wines are classified in four ways with respect to aging. Along with the DOC seal, a designation stamp or consejo appears on all bottles. A simple designation of Rioja is for a young wine, one kept less than a year in an oak barrel. A Crianza is aged for at least two years, one of those years in oak. Rioja Reserva is aged a minimum of three years, at least one year in oak. Rioja Gran Reserva is aged at least two years in oak and three in the bottle.
•Historically, the Spanish have been meticulous about the quality of their Rioja wine. Riojas first received legal recognition in 1102, by King Pedro I of Aragón and Navarra. An official government document protecting the quality and authenticity of Rioja wines was drafted and adopted in 1650.
•In the 17th century, the mayor of Logroño in La Rioja banned carriages and heavy carts from all of the city’s cobblestone streets that ran past wineries. Loud noises (vibrations) were known to negatively affect development of wine fermenting and aging in barrels.
•In Spain, wineries, wine cellars, and sometimes wine bars associated with wine-makers are called bodegas. These places are of great cultural significance. The term bodega comes from the Latin word (a)potheca, akin to “apothecary,” but it carries also a general meaning of “storehouse.” Neighborhood grocery stores in Spain are never called “bodegas.”
•Haro, a town in La Rioja, has a tradition known as La Batalla del Vino , an annual “wine battle” on San Pedro’s Day at the end of June. Thousands of people–all dressed in white–throw, pour and spray tens of thousands of liters of red wine on each other. The battle doesn’t end until every last participant and his or her clothes are completely stained purple.